5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks: Cocrystal on Top

Over the past trading week, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) decreased 2.51 percent to 3.288 points as of 1 p.m. EST on Friday (November 16).

Advanced Proteome Therapeutics (TSXV:APC,FWB:0E8) and Heidelberg Pharma (FWB:WL6) announced the companies will expand their partnership. Advancing this partnership is based off of the companies also announcing positive results from an animal study. The combination of these advanced technologies has led to a highly targeted, specific anti-cancer drug for several human cancer cell types.

Other news includes Boehringer Ingelheim and Epizyme (NASDAQ:EPZM) announcing a partnership to develop oncology treatments. The primary goal is to focus on lung and other solid tumor cancers in patients with defined mutations and sub populations which have an unmet need in precision treatments.

Against that backdrop, a number of other NASDAQ biotech stocks saw significant share price increases last week. The five top gainers are as follows:

• Cocrystal Pharma (NASDAQ:COCP)
• Ra Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RARX)
• Avenue Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ATXI)
• Imprimis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IMMY)
• Nightstar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NITE)

Here’s a closer look at those companies and what moved their share prices. Share prices are quoted in US dollars and are current as of 1:30 p.m. EST on Friday.

Cocrystal Pharma

Top of our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks is Cocrystal, which leads the way with a 39.89 percent share price increase to $2.56. This clinical-stage company has four drugs in its pipelines with just two in clinical development — both for Hepatitis C.

Cocrystal Pharma presented preclinical characterization data of its candidate CC-42322, a potential influenza A treatment on Tuesday (November 13). The information was presented at a medical conference, the International Society for Influenza and other Respiratory Virus Diseases (ISIRV), in Washington, DC.

Ra Pharmaceuticals

Ra lands second on our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list with a 35.59 percent share price increase to $16.23 over the weekly trading period. The company announced a board of directors addition on Thursday (November 15). The addition was for a biotech industry veteran, which may have been what increased the company’s share price.

The company develops peptides and small molecules, targeting complement cascade components. Its broad pipeline of its C5 inhibition franchise includes five programs for some blood disease indications.

Avenue Therapeutics

Avenue has a focus on acquiring, licensing, developing and commercializing products for acute or intensive care hospital settings. The company’s only product candidate is an IV version of the already approved Tramadol hydrochloride to manage moderate to severe post operative pain.

Landing middle of our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list, Avenue’s share price had a 24.68 percent share price increase to $5.22. On Wednesday (November 14), the company released its Q3 2018 financial results which may have contributed to the share price gain. The company reported a lower cash position due to the Phase 3 development of its product candidate.

Imprimis Pharmaceuticals

Imprimis also announced its Q3 2018 earnings last week, highlighting a 66 percent increase in revenue year-over-year to $10.7 million. Ophthalmology revenue specifically increased 81 percent to $8.9 million. This is likely what spiked investor interest in the company with a 23.50 percent increase in its share price to $5.36.

The company develops therapies through its own sterile and non-sterile pharmaceutical compounding services. Focuses on these therapies consist of ophthalmology, urology, otolaryngology and infectious diseases.

Nightstar Therapeutics

Last on our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Nightstar. The company released clinical milestones and its Q3 2018 financial results on Tuesday. A big announcement for these trials will be the initiation of the Phase 2/3 expansion study for the candidate NSR-RPGR for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP), which is a genetic eye disease.

Nightstar has seven ongoing development programs with two in the clinic. The pipeline is led by the company’s lead candidate NSR-REP1 for the rare genetic retinal disorder Choroideremia. Its share price increased 22.39 percent to $15.25.

Don’t forget to follow us at @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!

Data for 5 Top weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST using Globe and Mail’s Stock Filter. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million and lower than $500 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle Lakusta, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

***This article is published weekly. Scroll to the top for the most recent information.***

5 Top Weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks: Forward Pharma Leads

By Gabrielle Lakusta, November 11, 2018 

Over the past trading week, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (INDEXNASDAQ:NBI) decreased 0.84 percent to 3,390 points as of 1 p.m. EST on Friday (November 9).

In addition to the news for companies on this list, Novelion’s (NASDAQ:NVLN) subsidiary Aegerion Pharmaceuticals announced a loan agreement and business update on Thursday (November 8). This resulted in close to an 80 percent share price increase for the company as of market close Thursday.

Aside from companies on this list with positive share price movements,  some companies suffered share price losses over the week.  For example, Achaogen’s (NASDAQ:AKAO) share price decreased over 14 percent the two days following an announcement on Monday (November 5).

The announcement was to review strategic alternatives and corporate restructuring, such as selling the company itself. This is the second corporate restructuring initiative since the company’s first commercialized drug ZEMDRI was approved in July.

Against that backdrop, a number of other NASDAQ biotech stocks saw significant share price increases last week. The five top gainers are as follows:

• Forward Pharma (NASDAQ:FWP)
• Bellerophon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BLPH)
• NantKwest (NASDAQ:NK)
• Mustang Bio (NASDAQ:MBIO)
• Savara (NASDAQ:SVRA)

Here’s a closer look at those companies and what moved their share prices. Share prices are quoted in US dollars and are current as of 1:45 p.m. EST Friday.

Forward Pharma

Top of our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks is Forward Pharma, which leads the way with a 33.33 percent share price increase to $1.52. Forward is a Denmark-based pharmaceutical company with the active ingredient dimethyl fumarate (DMF) as the company’s proprietary formulation and intellectual property. The drug was developed for inflammation and neurological indications and been approved to treat multiple sclerosis (MS).

The company didn’t have any news in the past week. The most recent announcement came on October 24 and was an update to its patent appeal trial. The company lost a patent court appeal and will lose out on royalty payments from Biogen’s (NASDAQ:BIIB) drug Tecfidera, which Forward claims was breaking the term of its patent for DMF.

Bellerophon Therapeutics

Over the trading period last week, Bellerophon announced its Q3 2018 financial results, which may have triggered this share price increase. The company had a decrease in general and administrative expensive compared to the same quarter in 2017 due to a reduction in stock-based compensation expenses.

The company specializes in biotherapeutics and is developing products to treat cardiopulmonary and cardiac diseases. In its pipeline are three product candidates featuring the company’s INOpulsetechnology. The company’s share price increased 28.75 percent to $1.03.

NantKwest

NantKwest is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing therapies for the immune system to inhibit the use of natural killer cells to treat cancer, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases.

Last week week the company announced positive results from its first-in-human clinical trial of CD16, as a treatment for advanced metastatic cancer. There was a 90 percent disease control rate, with a 9.5 median survival rate for the patients. This was an increase over the previously known 8.7 months of overall survival with first generation therapies.

Middle of our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list, NantKwest’s share price jumped 22.54 percent over the trading period to $2.99.

Mustang Bio

Another company focused on harnessing the power of the human’s own immune system with CAR-T cells to fight cancer is Mustang Bio. The company has a focus on acquiring, licensing or other ways to acquire ownership interest to fund research and development for these technologies.

Mustang’s most recent news was an update of its CAR-T cell therapy clinical trial. A Phase 1 clinical trial for the drug has been initiated to treat HER2-positive breast cancer patients with brain metastases.

Landing fourth on our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list, Mustang had a 21.08 percent share price increase to $5.63.

Savara

Last on our weekly NASDAQ biotech stocks list is Savara, which announced its Q3 2018 financial results and provided a business update. Updates include Q2 2019 topline results from its IMPALA trial and Q4 2018 interim results from its OPTIMA trial.

This news likely contributed to its share price increase, which rose by 17.78 percent to $11.06. Savara is an orphan lung disease company with three candidates in it pipeline in various stages of development.

Don’t forget to follow us at @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!

Data for 5 Top weekly NASDAQ Biotech Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST using Globe and Mail’s Stock Filter. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million and lower than $500 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are considered.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle Lakusta, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.